Boundary Waters Quetico Forum :: Gear Forum :: Jet Boil
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Scout64 |
Pros: brings water to a boil very quickly, padded side keeps the mug warm and allows you to grab onto the sides w/o burning yourself. It also has its own wind blocking system. Cons: a little bulky and heavy for backpacking (but I do like it better than my alcohol stove, so I continue to bring it). |
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MN_Lindsey |
If so what do you love about it? Any opportunities for improvement? Which one to get? I didn't realize there were so many options. Flash, MiniMo, MicroMo, Zip? |
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bhouse46 |
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PortageKeeper |
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BuckFlicks |
But for 2 people, we find it's easier and more time-efficient (for us) to just use an MSR pocket rocket (or similar) stove and a titanium pot. The original JetBoil won't hold enough water to boil enough water for two freeze dried meals, and we like the flexibility to have a larger pot if we want to cook mac and cheese or spaghetti or somesuch... and we have a very lightweight non-stick skillet for other stuff like hot dogs or steaks if that's the way we choose to go. Also, the time difference isn't terribly notable. |
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boonie |
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Swampturtle |
In the past I have used the cup & the coffee press to make coffee, it works well & makes a nice cup. I got sick of dealing with the grinds, so I switched to VIA or instant. I have since switched from the cup it comes with to a MSR Alpine Teapot, it's a bit bigger & fits my needs better. I have the pan support & use a small nonstick pan from GSI for making French toast, fry bread, pancakes or fish etc. The jetboil frying pan was terrible & everything stuck to it. The heat is concentrated in one spot, so you have to stir, flip & move the food around in the pan to get it done, but it works well. I also have the jet boil billycan (large pot with flux ring, flux ring protector & lid) I use it for soups, rehydrating meals, boiling water for pasta etc. Again, the heat is concentrated in the middle & you have to stir your food constantly, even so, you end up with a bit of burnt on food in the center, comes off easily with a plastic scraper or bit of a soak. It is a good size for two people. |
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JATFOMike |
Mike |
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djwillco |
Pros: - Lightweight and compact (ignitor, fuel, stand all fit inside for one compact unit in your pack). - Boils fast with heat indicator on side (so you don't need to babysit it) - Good volume of water (boils enought water for two people for coffee, oatmeal, etc) - versatile (Coffee, Outmeal, freeze dried, soup, etc can all cooked and eaten right out of it). - Handle strap and drinking spout lid make it easy for eating & drinking - Performs well in all weather and wind. Easy lighting. Cons: - I find it a little unstable when using the pot and pan on top. |
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Northwoodsman |
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Wally13 |
I am contemplating the purchase of a MSR Windburner and I like its features for sure. But several reviewers say that it does not "simmer" very well. Can you comment further on your experience with the Windburner's simmering control. Also, can you comment on the relative burn time you get with the 8 oz. or 4 oz. fuel canisters for your Windburner. I am trying to figure how many canisters I would need for a 2 week solo canoe trip. I am thinking of pairing the Windburner with a foldup Emberlite or Solo Stove wood burner for this years trip vs. taking a MSR Whisperlite and white gas fuel containers. |
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schweady |
Wally13: "...I am contemplating the purchase of a MSR Windburner and I like its features for sure. But several reviewers say that it does not 'simmer' very well..." One trip so far with our WindBurner, and I thought it performed just fine on a moderate simmer. Probably not as fine-tunable as some, but adequately. Of course, the main reason for the integrated canister design is its flawless performance in direct wind and its quick boiling time. On the trip my wife and I took last July, we used less than one 8-oz canister (only 6.7 oz used) for 4 boil-and-mix 2-person meals, a dinner of 4 fish fillets, one breakfast of pancakes, 3 morning coffee sessions, and 2-3 afternoon hot chocolate sessions ('twas a cold, wet, rainy basecamp...) |
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boonie |
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Wally13 |
An 8 oz. canister will provide for a lot of meal cooking. Besides using the Windburner for boiling water for my everyday oatmeal and coffee for breakfast and suppers in a bag ... I would also like to use the ceramic non stick skillet for the occasional scrambled Ova Easy eggs and frying up some precooked bacon. Heck, some blackend and fried walleye sounds good too. Ummm. |
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Northwoodsman |
I haven't burned a full tank on a trip to see how long it would last. I fly back and forth to MN and can't take it on a plane so I always buy a new one when I get to MN and give away the partial (and often a full one) when I leave. Boonies #'s seem right on. It simmers very well. I actually kept having to turn mine up because I was judging the temp by the sound it was putting out. Since you can't see an actual flame it is hard to judge without just putting some food in it and start cooking. |
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keth0601 |
Last year a group of 4 of us shared a windburner when we backpacked the Glacier Trail in Wyoming to climb Gannett Peak. We ended up using less than a single 8oz cannister of fuel between the four of us (boiling water for coffee and freeze dried/add water meals). Granted we were on the move for the most part so we didn't have 3 hot meals a day, it's still pretty impressive. The thing I was most impressed with was the fact that wind basically had no effect on it- and keep in mind this is in the Wind River range of Wyoming. They won't call it the Wind River for no reason. I don't think there's really anything else out there that can keep that level of efficiency in those conditions. As a backpacker & climber though I personally think they're a bit too heavy for solo use and I usually prefer my Caldera Cone over most other options for the weight. For the BWCA the new model with the remote hose and the pan options might be a great option though since weight isn't as much of a concern. |
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Ragged |
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proepro |
A new stove inspired by the Jetboil is the Camp Chef Stryker. At full retail I would spend the extra $20 for a Jetboil. However, I have seen it on sale for under $50. Then it is a good deal. I used one last year for boiling lots of water and it worked well. |
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Ragged |
butthead: "I know some will let me know about spending their hard earned $$$, but what the hey----- I feel ya, I have probably $400-500 into various backpacking type cooking systems and THIS GUY cooks most of my food these days, super cheap and super "soft" large flame is perfect for the fish pan, dead simple and packs small, I have about 5 of them because I like them and never want to be without. I will say there is one that looks just like it but comes with a black case, not as nice, the blue case one is the way to go. |
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butthead |
butthead |
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butthead |
Just a suggestion for those interested in Windburner stove systems with my usual loo to oriental sources for compettative stove ideas. Bulin BL100-B15 Ebay Bulin BL100-B15 butthead |
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schweady |
Wally13: "...I would also like to use the ceramic non stick skillet..." A great addition |
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boonie |
I think you'll find my experience with the iso/pro canisters - both JetBoil and MSR (same blend IIRC) - relevant to your question (see my post above), although you'll really need to do a couple of tests of your own real world usage. I started trying to get a better handle on fuel usage and burn time a few years ago. Here was my usage for two years: 1. Used a 100 gram canister for 9 dinners, 19 coffees 2. Used 108 grams for 11 dinners, 20 coffees All dinners were dehydrated and required boiling 8-10 ounces of water to rehydrate them. My use is solo and boiling/heating about a cup of water vs. a liter as noted above. I usually figure that 100 grams of isopro will burn 30 minutes on average. It will vary with environmental conditions - temperature, wind. I go in mid to late Sept. It will also vary with the way you use it; I think I read on one of the stove sites or maybe an in-depth review that they burn longer if not turned on full blast at only a slight increase in boiling time. That's what I do; I also monitor it pretty closely so it doesn't continue to burn fuel after the water is heated/boiled. That will give you an idea about what yours might be something to compare your tests to. So, for me, for 14 days, a medium-size canister (225+ grams of fuel) would be plenty with a good margin of safety. In other words, I'd need about 50 minutes of burn time (14 x 3.5) and I'd have 67 (30 x 2.25). YMMV |
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UncleBuck |
An 8 oz Sterno isobutane/propane tank boiled the water to a rolling boil 13 times at 5/8 oz of fuel used per boil. It took each an average of 7.5 minutes to boil from cold tap water. The empty canister weighed 5 oz. Each boil was enough to just start to boil over which is more than I would let it go in the field for simple coffee and oatmeal. The last boil did not quite reach the rolling point. I needed about 10 more seconds of full burn for that. Total burn time was about 97 minutes which lines up to their specs of 95 minutes. Edit: Note that the boil times started to increase by about 20-25 seconds for the last three burns. This indicates to me that the valve seems to maintain pressure pretty well as the tank gets lower. |
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Lotw |
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Wally13 |
I bought the 1 litre pot Windburner Setup for my solo. I think the average boil time for a 1 liter pit of water is 4.5 minutes with a Windburner? |
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UncleBuck |
Wally13: "Uncle Buck ... u da man. Thanks for testing. Thanks, Wally. I decided to get a Windburner because I was tired of setting up my Dragonfly in the mornings just to heat water for coffee and oatmeal for myself and two daughters (hence the 1.8l over the 1l). I love the Dragonfly and I will still bring it for cooking and using with my bigger fry pan if I ever catch a fish that I take the time to clean (although I will bring one less extra MSR tank of white gas for it.) I think the Jetboil Sumo would have also worked for me but I rather liked the remote canister setup that the Duo has. The Duo also leaves me the option of using their pans on it but I don't need those right now if I'm using the Dragonfly. |
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Tman |
I also have a 3 liter Jetboil pot that I use over a Snow Peak GigaPower stove for larger groups. Again, it works extremely well for boiling water but I wouldn't use it for other types of cooking. Note that these heat exchanger pots work well in both directions. They cool the contents almost as fast as they heat them. Use the water as soon as it is heated. |